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Henry Cejudo has revealed which UFC bantamweight star has the best chance of defeating interim titleholder Petr Yan. UFC's inaugural 135-pound champion Dominick Cruz is his surprise pick.
Yan has been absolutely dominant in the UFC. He was 6-0 before fighting for the title that Cejudo vacated. The Russian defeated the legendary Jose Aldo at UFC 251 for the bantamweight championship.
However, 'No Mercy' became the first ever champ in UFC history to drop his title via disqualification at UFC 259 earlier this year. He lost to Aljamain Sterling after inflicting an illegal knee on a downed opponent.
Speaking on The Triple C & Schmo Show, 'The Messenger' told co-host Dave Schmulenson that Cruz's wrestling skills gave him an opportunity to possibly defeat Yan.
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"I think Dominick Cruz has the best chance to beat up Petr Yan. You know why, it is because of his distance game and the fact that he wrestles. None of these guys had really forced Petr Yan to actually wrestle. And the way Dominick Cruz mixes it, I am not saying he could beat Petr Yan. But I'm saying he has the best chance of beating him, if that makes any sense. That is actually a compliment," said Cejudo.
Watch Henry Cejudo in conversation with The Schmo below:
Yan (16-2) overcame fellow bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen in a barn burner at UFC 267 to win the interim championship. Meanwhile, Cruz (23-3) last fought Casey Kenney in March 2021 and triumphed via a split decision.
Henry Cejudo defeated Dominick Cruz in his last UFC fight
Henry Cejudo announced his retirement after beating Dominick Cruz via TKO at UFC 249. However, the stoppage from referee Keith Peterson was controversial to an extent.
Cejudo executed a perfect knee strike to put Cruz on the canvas and pounded him with a flurry of punches. 'The Dominator' was rocked but was trying to get back to his feet.
Peterson's stoppage with just two seconds to go in the second round was another talking point as the Olympic gold medallist became only the second fighter in the UFC to defeat 'The Dominator'.
